Contractors/electricians/installers spend hours aligning conduit to pre-cut knockouts in an enclosure wall. They also spend excessive time measuring and transposing conduit profiles on a fixed blank endwall which is permanently attached to a panel or enclosure before cutting the required openings for a wire conduit or any other required opening or conduit. Most of the time these openings have to be made prior to hanging or mounting the panel or enclosure onto the wall. For this reason, panels or enclosures having a fixed endwall creates an awkward process of cutting the holes needed for the conduit, such as, a wire conduit. It also produces an awkward process for hanging or mounting of the enclosure to the wall once the openings have been cut. In this manner the installation of a panel or enclosure becomes very labor intensive and time consuming. Therefore, there is a need for improvement in electrical panels or enclosures, especially for accommodating electrical components, such as, electrical wires, electrical conduits, to name a few.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,867 (Stanley W. Heldenbrand, et al.), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a cabinet for an electronic apparatus which includes a shelf of removable electronic circuit modules being interconnected by a back plane structure, the cabinet including side walls for supporting the shelf and a rear closure wall detachably fixed to rear edges of the side walls. Connector panels each diagonally straddle rear interior corners at junctions of the rear wall and the side walls to define vertical cable channels. An interconnect cavity behind the back plane structure is defined by a central portion of the rear wall between the connector panels and is limited by upper and lower closure panels at upper and lower ends of the connector panels. Edges of the upper and lower closure panels and the connector panels define a port for convenient physical access to the interconnect cavity when the rear wall is removed. Cable spans between the back plane structure and the connector panels are inherently direct and short, thereby minimizing potential EMI radiation such that feedthrough capacitance of connectors in the connector panel is likewise advantageously minimized.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,913 (John R. Marrotte, et al.), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a wall structure includes at least two studs that are designed to support panels front and back, and end caps or raceway channel defining members on the leading and trailing edges of the panel wall structure. Each of the studs includes sets of oppositely arranged flanges that in turn cooperate with marginal edges of both the panels and the raceway defining members. Cross bracing is provided to allow wiring either within the enclosed space between the panels, or more preferably in the wireways defined in the raceway members so that the power and data communication conductors can be isolated from one another. The feature of the panel structure is that the panels themselves can support light fixtures or other lightweight electrical devices, and heavier electrical devices or units can be accommodated from the cross bracing or from shelves secured to the cross bracing and to the studs. Knockout openings in the studs and in the cross bracing provides for convenience in wiring and in mounting of electrical devices generally.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,286,339 (William C. Baca), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses an underground combination service entrance apparatus for temporary and permanent service comprising two enclosures. A utility enclosure contains a meter socket and the second enclosure contains a breaker panel. The breaker panel on the customer side and the meter on the utility side meet NEC requirements and the local utility company regulations. An optional section in the utility enclosure provides a raceway space for routing wiring. Knockout holes are provided on the utility enclosure for installation of a hub for running wires to and from the service apparatus. The enclosures can be semi-flushed mounted. The two enclosures are isolated from each other, fastened together, and mounted on a wall. A removable hood is provided to weatherproof the customer enclosure for temporary use.
However, this invention improves on the deficiencies of the prior art and provides an inventive removable endwall plate for electrical panels or enclosures.